Coal plants would kill banana exports

[NewsWhore]

The DR could lose its organic banana market if the government goes ahead and installs coal-fired power generators near the Port of Manzanillo, which is close to major banana plantations. Banana exports valued at US$54.26 million a year are at risk. Senator Radhames Pena (PLD-Valverde) warned that European importers have already notified that the dust would contaminate the bananas. "Representatives of the companies that buy organic bananas say that if the generators and coal deposits are installed, they would immediately suspend the purchase of bananas," said Pena, who is also president of the Senate budget commission. He said that the northwestern region exports on average US$2 million in bananas, or about 300 container freights. As reported in Diario Libre, there are 160,000 tareas of banana plantations, of which 60% is in small farms, 30% medium-sized farms and 10% large farms, providing an estimated 16,000 jobs. The DR is one of the largest exporters of organic bananas in the world, with Europe purchasing about 85% of the exports, estimated at more than 160,000 tons a year. The governmental CDEEE has contracted the installation of the coal-fired power generators.

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